19/12/1975 Explaining Christmas
On our week long journey walking from Naleba to Lagalaga, Sog Lingam and I explained to the families why we were making this journey.
All those in the house and sometimes neighbors too would gather around us as I went through the routine. “You know that Christmas is coming?” “Yes”. “Do you know the meaning of Christmas?” “Yes. It is a holiday. We kill a goat, make curry and have a big feed. The men drink whiskey and beer and women and children drink lemonade. Christmas is a very sinful day. Look at all the animals that are killed for food and all the alcohol that is drunk”.
The idea that Christmas is a sinful day knocked me off balance a bit. But it did introduce the topic of sin (and its opposite – redemption). So I explained how God sent his Son to save the world from sin; and how this Son, Jesus, was born of poor but religious parents in Bethlehem. This child was God’s greatest gift to a sinful world. He would defeat Satan and bring about God’s kingdom of justice and peace. The angels, knowing this, sang their hymn of praise announcing peace to people of faith and good will.
The villagers listened with rapt attention. They examined the pictures in our Christmas chart with interest. They could identify with the shepherds who brought their gifts for God’s Son. Then, leaving them the Hindi pamphlet and asking them to say a special prayer on Christmas day, Sog Lingam and I would move on to another house.
The Indian hospitality created a problem for us. There is a limit to the amount of sweet tea a person can drink. I soon reached my limit yet I knew that to refuse the hospitality would be a refusal to accept them. We solved the dilemma by asking in most houses for a little water instead of tea. Walking in the heat was sweaty work so drinking plenty of water was no problem.
Then, at the end of the day we were glad to rest with a Catholic family, share their rice and curry and rest our weary legs.
by Fr Frank Hoare
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